Arizona State Rep. Kyrsten Sinema is one of those politicians who tell us how they really feel.

When Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat, left to become Secretary of Homeland Security, Republicans suddenly controlled Arizona's government. Under Gov. Jan Brewer, Arizona has become a focal point for conservative experimentation, starting with SB 1070 -- the immigration bill.

Sinema is one of the disempowered Democrats. Here's what she said when asked what Republican rule has meant:

"It’s been a real change, much bigger than we expected. I knew that it would be a big shift when Napolitano left – we widely anticipated that she would be tapped for the Obama administration – but, I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t think it was going to be this bad. I did not.

The legislation that they have passed through and that this governor has signed is almost beyond belief. The elimination of the concealed-carry permit law is crazy. It’s crazy. That coupled with the fact that last year they passed a bill that said you can bring guns into bars – so now you can bring concealed weapons into bars with no permit. That’s just frightening to think of.

You know that they also passed a bill to ban the creation of human-animal hybrids, which pose a great security threat to our state. I think that people underestimate the damage that the centaurs and mermaids can do in our community.

They banned African-American history classes. That’s crazy. That’s crazy. So now our students don’t even get the option to learn about African-American history. That’s just crazy.

And then obviously, they passed SB 1070, I think a misguided solution to what is a very real problem that our state is facing. And, that’s just a handful of things.

They also, I think kind of maliciously, eliminated domestic partner benefits from state employees’ health care and of course last week a judge struck that down and said, “You can’t do that. It’s not fair to protect health care for some of your employees and not others.” So, that’s been struck down in court already.

They’ve just pushed forward a really extreme agenda. One of my favorite bills to tell people about is they passed a bill that said that you can manufacture and own automatic weapons in Arizona as long as the weapon was entirely manufactured in Arizona and as long as you don’t cross state boundaries. Now, a lot of people don’t know about that. The Commerce Clause, as you know, is the rule that the federal government uses as its basis to ban the sale of automatic weapons in this country. Their argument is, well, if every part of the gun is manufactured in Arizona and if the gun doesn’t leave Arizona, then the interstate Commerce Clause doesn’t apply. So, let’s just be clear here. You can take guns into bars, there’s no concealed carry weapon permit anymore and you can have an automatic weapon. Now, I’m a supporter of the Second Amendment, but this is crazy. That’s crazy. That’s just crazy.

So, what I’m concerned about is that if we continue to have one-party rule after this election that they will continue down this road of unbelievably out-of-touch bills that frankly endanger our community."

Obviously, Republicans would disagree with some of her characterizations of the legislation, but it's hard to imagine a better encapsulation of what it feels like to be an Arizona Democrat right now.

People in Arizona like their state legislature leaning to the right. Here are some examples:

June 29, 2009: From the annals of desperate measures, the state considers a plan to sell the House and Senate buildings to raise some quick cash. Under the proposed plan, the House and Senate would lease the buildings over a number of years before buying them back again. Though not actually a piece of legislation, the state’s plan was so bizarre that it prompted The Daily Show team to run a segment on it.

September 30, 2009: The state passes a law allowing those with concealed weapons permits to bring their guns into bars and restaurants. The law stipulates that any establishment with a sign prohibiting guns is off-limits for those packing heat, though it also provides plenty of loopholes to keep toters from having to disarm too frequently.

February 9, 2010: State Rep. Frank Antenori ® introduces legislation, co-sponsored by twelve other House members, to cut off welfare funding to any recipients who spend money on cigarettes, alcohol, cable TV packages, a car, or anything else he deems of “the niceties of life.” Antenori said of his proposed legislation: “If you’re basically hungry and can’t afford to feed yourself, then I don’t think you should be able to afford to buy cigarettes.”

March, 2010: Arizona votes to repeal KidsCare, a health insurance program for poor children. Not only did the repeal cut health care for about 38,000 kids, but it also may have violated a provision in the recently passed health care reform bill that requires states to maintain its previous standards of eligibility. The move thus jeopardes the billions of dollars the state receives in Medicaid funding from the federal government.

April 7, 2010: Arizona’s Attorney General, Democrat Terry Goddard, refused to join the lawsuit to repeal health care reform that was brought by a number of other state AGs, so Gov. Jan Brewer is on the lookout for other ways. The conservative-backed Goldwater Institute helpfully offered to bring the suit, and Brewer is reportedly considering the offer.

April 15, 2010: The Arizona House approves a bill to strengthen abortion requirements, following its passage in the Senate. If signed into law by the governor, the bill would require abortion providers to report on the individual abortions they perform. Though the names of the women would remain confidential, the bill would also require statistics on how many times courts bypassed parental consent laws, among other things.

April 20, 2010: A bill that would require presidential candidates to prove their citizenship before appearing on Arizona’s ballot wins initial approval from the Arizona state House. The bill still needs final approval from the House and state Senate before it gets sent to Gov. Brewer, but if it passes it would require President Obama to present his birth certificate if he hopes to get on the Arizona ballot in 2012.

April 23, 2010: SB 1070 "Papers, please" racial-profiling horseshit is signed into law. The two largest police forces in the state - Phoenix and Tucson - are headed by chiefs who oppose the law, saying it drives a wedge between cops and citizens and puts officers in an impossible position. Amazing how they're not deporting any illegal Canadians.

January 18, 2012: House Bill 2563, sponsored by Rep. Terri Proud, R-Tucson, allows public and charter schools to offer a high-school elective called "The Bible and Its Influence on Western Culture." The course must address the influence of the Old and the New Testaments on laws, history, government, literature, art, music, customs, morals, values and culture. In an email, Proud seems to be promoting her bill to teach the Bible by saying high school students who have biblical knowledge have higher GPAs than the average student who doesn’t read the Bible.
January 30, 2012: HB 2675, which would impact that more cash-strapped population of students at local universities. Basically, the Republican-led legislature says if you are not on an athletic or academic scholarship you should be paying the university to allow you to learn. This means those poor students who are simply trying to improve their lives would have to pay an added $2,000 per year. Oh and the kicker, that money can’t come from grants. Yep, it has to come from a loan or your own pocket, folks.

STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX – House Democrats are holding government accountable today for ridiculous legislation that wastes Arizona taxpayers’ money and fails to fix jobs and the economy.

Republicans, who control all of state government, are backing irresponsible and divisive bills that do nothing for the people of Arizona.

“As a life-long Arizonan, I grew up with the five C’s on our state seal: copper, cotton, cattle, citrus and climate, but now we have a new C: crazy,” said House Minority Leader Chad Campbell. “Republicans have stooped to a new level by opting for wedge issues while Arizona’s budget is still out of balance, nearly 100 Arizonans still don’t have the transplants they need to survive and we have one of the worst poverty rates in the nation.”

SB 1610, Declaring an official state firearm: Would make the Colt Single Action Army revolver Arizona’s official firearm, instead of focusing on the real issues – economy, jobs and education. (Gould)

HB 2490, Happy Meal toys: Would bar cities and counties from enacting regulations that limit the ability of restaurant incentives like toys, which restricts local governments’ rights. (Gowan)

HB 2384, HB 2416, HB 2443, Absurd anti-choice bills:
· Prohibits abortions sought based on race or sex of the child, when the sex of a fetus is not known when abortions are performed. (Montenegro)
· Dictates what colleges can teach by prohibiting them from using public funds, tax monies or tuition for medical training that includes abortions. (Lesko)
· Requires a woman performing an abortion to listen to the heartbeat of the fetus before termination. (Yee)

HB 2471, Waste of taxpayer dollars: Prohibits the legislature from enacting any statute that involves a monetary federal mandate, which would be overturned due to federal law. (Gowan)

HB 2191, Benefits only one person: Prohibits any person who is illegally in this state in violation of federal immigration law from being awarded punitive damages by any Arizona court, which is a bill introduced to benefit one rancher. (Weiers)

HB 2313, Waste of taxpayer dollars: Broadens the classification of property to the state’s eminent domain laws by including property possessed by the federal government, which would be overturned due to federal law. (Jones)

HB 2077, Waste of taxpayer dollars: Requires any federal agency that comes into a county to conduct authorized business to register its presence with the county sheriff, which would be overturned due to federal law. (Lesko)

SB 1433, Waste of taxpayer dollars: Asserts that the state is not required to recognize or live under any federal legislation that has been nullified by simple majority vote of the legislature, which will bring the state costly lawsuits, which would be overturned due to federal law. (Klein)

HB 2581, STO alcohol contributions: Would allow a credit for contributions to an STO, which would allow the makers and distributors of alcoholic beverages to contribute to the corporate private school tuition tax credit. (Mesnard)

House Democrats say it’s time for We the People to hold Republicans accountable for their irresponsible bills and their misplaced priorities.

“I see people in my own district and around the state fighting to just put food on the table or struggling with foreclosure,” said Assistant House Minority Leader Steve Farley. “At the same time, Republicans’ priority bills will have no meaning because of the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause. It’s just embarrassing. It’s time to fix a broken system and preserve our communities. It’s time for honesty and effectiveness in government. That time is now.”

(15-04-2012 05:06 PM)Quidsane Wrote: Ironic that if President Obama had not picked our democratic Governor, Janet Napolitano,
to be head of Homeland Security, then this horseshit wouldn't be happening.

What the fuck?!? You out on a weekend pass or something?

Yeah, a weekend pass from your Mom.

You seem to be confused.
I'll spell it out for you:

Janet Napolitano would NEVER have signed any of that crap into law.
Arizona has no lieutenant governor, so the Secretary of State stands first in the line of succession.
If Janet Napolitano had remained our governor, instead of being called up to the Federal level by the President,
then Jan Brewer would have remained Secretary Of State, powerless to push her racist religious right-wing agenda.

(15-04-2012 06:08 PM)GirlyMan Wrote: What the fuck?!? You out on a weekend pass or something?

Yeah, a weekend pass from your Mom.

You seem to be confused.
I'll spell it out for you:

Janet Napolitano would NEVER have signed any of that crap into law.
Arizona has no lieutenant governor, so the Secretary of State stands first in the line of succession.
If Janet Napolitano had remained our governor, instead of being called up to the Federal level by the President,
then Jan Brewer would have remained Secretary Of State, powerless to push her racist religious right-wing agenda.

That problem will keep cropping up as long as the system and the attitude don't change. The current system and attitude are best characterized as 'winner takes all' in a two party system. Which leads to 'divide and conquer' and never to cooperation!

Don't like how that works out IRL?
Change it to a coalition system with multiple parties and proportional representation so that parties are forced to cooperate – i.e. find a middle ground, compromise – in the execution of government.

Janet Napolitano would NEVER have signed any of that crap into law.
Arizona has no lieutenant governor, so the Secretary of State stands first in the line of succession.
If Janet Napolitano had remained our governor, instead of being called up to the Federal level by the President,
then Jan Brewer would have remained Secretary Of State, powerless to push her racist religious right-wing agenda.

That problem will keep cropping up as long as the system and the attitude don't change. The current system and attitude are best characterized as 'winner takes all' in a two party system. Which leads to 'divide and conquer' and never to cooperation!

Don't like how that works out IRL?
Change it to a coalition system with multiple parties and proportional representation so that parties are forced to cooperate – i.e. find a middle ground, compromise – in the execution of government.

The corporations own the two parties, and they aren't really interested in using the corporations money for buying out a third. After all, that might lower the billions in executive bonuses each quarter.

Tell you about that desert... it is my hypothesis that greater craziness in the population focuses greater vision in the individual -the relationship of prophetic times to prophets. Quidsane, you best GTFO before you become a prophet. No foolin'.

Arizona’s liberal former governor, and former United States Attorney, Janet Napolitano—who fended off all attacks on women through the power of the veto pen—was whisked off to Washington in 2008 by the Obama administration. She left us with her evil twin, Jan Brewer, that is, the former Secretary of State and now governor, who—at least as far as human rights are concerned—is the wicked witch of the West.

In the same mold as Texas Governor Rick Perry, she just signed legislation that bans Planned Parenthood from receiving state funds. Never mind that it has been repeatedly pointed out that only 3% of Planned Parenthood’s activity involves abortion. Never mind that Arizona already bans the use of state money to fund abortions. Never mind that thousands of women rely on Planned Parenthood for their basic health care.

No, Jan Brewer—with her community college certificate for radiological technologist (she never earned a degree)—knows best when it comes to the health care of women and the clump of cells they may or may not (since an Arizona pregnancy now begins with a woman’s last period) carry in their bodies. Her vast concern for children and their families is no doubt the reason why, in 2011, she signed a bill that eliminated Kids Care—the program that provided healthcare to thousands of uninsured children. Children who already exist on the face of the earth, and within the boundaries of her state. Brewer recently did an about-face, of sorts, on Kids Care and decided to reopen it to 22,000 children. Never mind that nearly 137,000 applicants are now on the waiting list.

Skipping right past all the other human rights violations the wicked witch has recently signed—like the anti-immigration bill, SB 1070—it’s fruitful to take a quick peek at Brewer’s past. As a member of the state legislature, she was a staunch defender of former governor Evan Mecham when, in 1988, he became the first Arizona governor to ever be impeached. Mecham, too, was a notorious opponent of human rights, cancelling the Martin Luther King holiday and bringing the wrath of the nation down on his head. As with SB1070, the consequence of his action was a significant loss of revenue for the state as the cancellation of events poured in (His insistence on calling black children ‘pickaninnies’ didn’t help). Jan’s kindred soul was impeached after only 15 months in office on an obstruction of justice charge and for the misuse of state funds which he funneled to his car dealership.

One of the most productive things Brewer ever did was, as a state legislator, to support the creation of the office of Lieutenant Governor in Arizona. Her argument was that, while the Secretary of State was next in the line of succession for the governorship, holding the Secretary’s position did not qualify a person to be governor. Furthermore, she thought the Lieutenant Governor should be of the same party as the Governor. Of course, Brewer’s proposed bill was defeated. In Arizona, progress is nothing but a dirty word.

Let me fast forward to the outcome: Jan Brewer was the Republican Secretary of State when the Democratic Governor, Janet Napolitano, vacated the office—and, thus, left Jan Brewer in charge. There are many of us who rue the day of that bill’s defeat.

Do I sound angry? Of course I do. I’m a woman. I live in Arizona. I feel threatened and under assault. I, like many of my compatriots, long for the days when Janet Napolitano occupied the office of governor. Please, Mr. President, give her back!